News stories from Wednesday June 20, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Truckers broadened work stoppages and disruptions of freight shipments despite government efforts to ease the protest by independents over fuel prices and shortages. Even before an 11:59. P.M. deadline for a national halt, incidents of violence, slowdowns, shutdowns and blockades of fuel supplies signaled a deepening crisis.
A fresh produce shortage and higher prices may result if the strike by independent truckers is not settled within a week. Seasonable produce in the key Southeastern farm sector is beginning to dry out and rot, and poultry producers report that storage freezers of birds are beginning to overflow.
[New York Times] - No rise in Saudi oil production is planned now or at any time soon, Crown Prince Fahd said in an interview. His statement makes it all but certain that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will soon set a substantially higher price. [New York Times]
- As alternate-day gasoline sales took effect in the New York metropolitan area and throughout Connecticut, congestion at service stations decreased. In New Jersey, where the odd-even rules become effective tomorrow, many motorists lined up at the pumps. [New York Times]
- State laws that allow commitment of minor children to state mental institutions by their parents were upheld by the Supreme Court. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and 33 other states have such laws. The Justices ruled that hospital medical staffs must conclude independently that commitment is needed, but they unanimously rejected two lower court rulings that the parents' decision must be investigated at an adversary-type hearing. [New York Times]
- Police do not need search warrants before installing a device that records the numbers dialed from a particular phone, the Supreme Court ruled. Use of the devices, called pen registers, is said to be growing among law enforcement officials because they can be installed at a telephone company office without any physical intrusion into a suspect's home. [New York Times]
- An airliner was hijacked by a Serbian nationalist who forced the Boeing 727 jet's return to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, where it landed safely. An aircraft was standing by, apparently to take the alleged hijacker to Johannesburg, South Africa, but a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the bureau "would make every effort" to dissuade the alleged hijacker with a "peaceful" compromise. The 128 passengers and five of eight crew members were released in Chicago. [New York Times]
- Mikhail Baryshnikov was appointed the next artistic director of the American Ballet Theater. The former Soviet ballet star, who is now with the New York City Ballet, danced with Ballet Theater from 1974 to 1978. [New York Times]
- A homosexual may keep a son he adopted, a judge ruled. The Rev. John Kuiper of Catskill, N.Y., was granted indefinite custody of the 13-year-old boy after the minister had acknowledged he was involved in a homosexual relationship with an older man. The boy had lived in foster homes and a children's shelter until he was adopted by the minister a year ago. [New York Times]
- A Nicaraguan counteroffensive has been opened by President Somoza against insurgents seeking his overthrow. He is under international pressure to accept a political settlement to the civil war. Meanwhile, Bill Stewart, an ABC-TV reporter, and his interpreter were summarily shot to death by a National Guardsman during a visit to the scene of recent fighting between government troops and rebels.
An appeal to halt fighting in Nicaragua through collective effort will be made tomorrow by Secretary of State Vance to foreign ministers of the Organization of American States. He will also try to enlist member governments in seeking a broadly-based transitional government in Managua.
[New York Times] - A rift developed In Salisbury as eight members of Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa's ruling party announced they had formed their own political group. As a result, Bishop Muzorewa's party lost its parliamentary majority, and the defections underlined the rising impact of tribal divisions in the black-dominated politics of Zimbabwe Rhodesia. [New York Times]
- Uganda's new President resigned less than 10 weeks after the ouster of Idi Amin. Yusufu Lule, an educator, stepped down and was succeeded by Godfrey Binaisa, a British-trained lawyer. The governing coalition voted no confidence in Mr. Lule because of what was termed his failure to consult with legislators on policies. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 839.83 (+0.43, +0.05%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| June 19, 1979 | 839.40 | 101.58 | 30.78 |
| June 18, 1979 | 839.40 | 101.56 | 30.97 |
| June 15, 1979 | 843.30 | 102.09 | 32.93 |
| June 14, 1979 | 842.34 | 102.20 | 37.84 |
| June 13, 1979 | 842.17 | 102.31 | 40.75 |
| June 12, 1979 | 845.29 | 102.85 | 45.44 |
| June 11, 1979 | 837.58 | 101.91 | 28.27 |
| June 8, 1979 | 835.15 | 101.49 | 31.47 |
| June 7, 1979 | 836.97 | 101.79 | 43.38 |
| June 6, 1979 | 835.50 | 101.30 | 39.83 |